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Your gaming skills have improved since we've last talked. Impressive! How about we take you to the leagues and show what you've got? Tournaments will help build the confidence, but what if you're feeling like going pro?
Let me help showcase the available pro gaming leagues out there.
A majority of the pro leagues are fun to watch (especially at a live event). Championship events sell out quickly, and the players in the professional organizations are masterful.
Here is a full list of the leagues/tournaments available. Let me highlight a few that are pretty active in North America:
League of Legends Championship Series: The most popular esports tournament (and game) on the planet.
Call of Duty League: Bravo-Six, going dark. Light 'em up with the Call of Duty franchise, you won't.
Overwatch League: Though I knew little about Overwatch, these live events are hype!
Evolution Championship Series: This is where the fighting game community (FGC) shines bright.
I'm a young gamer who wants to show my skills. How else can I get involved?
While there are the above two categories of leagues/tournaments that have both the traditional sport and non-traditional sport roots, these players need to get recognized beyond the digital scoreboard. Here are a few ways:
Super League Gaming: Amateur players, go here. You can even represent your city!
ESL Play (NA): 10 million+ players have played in these tournaments, which features all sorts of games.
Tespa: Mit(espa)ochondria is the collegiate gaming powerhouse of the cell.
PlayVS: High school esports have a large presence of gamers, and PlayVS provides that opportunity as well as to be an esports coach.
Wait. What is it like to be them?
Pro players in pro orgs not only get a coach, team players, and a team house but also a nutritionist, a chef, etc. A sports team but in esports? You better believe it!
Here are the stats of current pro players:
Age: The average age is in the early 20's and can go as low as 16. Retirement is usually in the late 20's or early 30's, as teams look for someone to press the button that much faster. But, don't leave out the Silver Snipers, who the youngest is 62 and oldest in the 80's!
Gender: 35% of pro esports players are female. While that percentage has been increasing and that 46% of gamers in the U.S. are female, pro orgs recognize the need to rid of the gender gap. For instance, CLG Red Team (of Counter Logic Gaming) continues to win in tremendous fashion in CS:GO (they are looking for a CS:GO Head Coach, too!).
Type of Game: In relation to the pro leagues out there, League of Legends (a MOBA game), CS:GO (FPS), Dota 2 (MOBA), and Overwatch remain as the most popular esports games. VALORANT (FPS) and Call of Duty (FPS) are trending, but all of these games require playing with a team. There is not "I" in the word "TEAM" after all.
What's Next?
Gaming has the big stage, but there's a chance to be bigger. There is hesitancy with which games can be viewed without criticism (that is, connotations of violence and a "red dot" on the screen). However, these are the organizations that are looking to provide that bigger stage:
Olympics: While it may not happen anytime soon, the IOC has at least had conversations about it.
YouTube Gaming: YouTube Gaming is where gamers and brands alike get crafty. Twitch and mixer are in the race for the top gaming streaming service, but it's exciting to see a recent LazarBeam livestream get over 920,000 concurrent viewers yesterday (topping Ninja's record at 667,000).
Amazon Games: Yes, Amazon has its own gaming studios which released Crucible not too long ago. Oh, and Amazon also owns Twitch.
Esports Organizations: The top esports organizations exemplify themselves through not only pro tournaments but also through building content, creating merchandise/apparel, and adding non-endemic and endemic brands into sponsoring their events, content houses, and collaborations. 100 Thieves, Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, FaZe Clan, and Team Liquid are just a few of many orgs in the mix.
No matter what gaming league or tournament there may be, showcasing skills is one of the many ways you can go pro. The 1% of gamers who are pro have built their way up to get to where they are now, but that shouldn't stop you from being a gaming personality star. Even the gaming world requires plenty of passionate people to further gaming: game design, journalism and media, brand sponsorships, etc. Either way, use your gaming alter ego and build your own content. It can take you far.
Watching these league matches will amp up that passion, too. And remember, when you get to that pro level, be sure to mention Jox Digital in the "Gamer of the Year" acceptance speech. :')
Game on,
Jox, Jox Digital Educator
info@jox.digital
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